INDEPENDENT NATIONAL ELECTORAL COMMISSION
DAILY
BULLETIN
VOLUME: 1 N0.: 656 DATE: 04 / 08 / 2014
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DISTRIBUTION OF PVCs AND CVR CRUCIAL TO 2015 GENERAL ELECTIONS
The distribution of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) and the Continous Voter Registration (CVR) exercises are crucial to the 2015 General Elections because a Voters Register which possesses requisite integrity is a foundation for credible elections.
The INEC Chairman, Professor Attahiru Jega, stated this on Friday last week at a two-day workshop at the Transcorp Hotel, Calabar for Heads of Voter Education and Publicity and the Electoral Officers (E.Os.) from the eleven states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) where the distribution of Permanent Voter Cards will kick off on 15th August 2015. The states are:
Yobe, Bauchi, Jigawa, Sokoto, FCT, Kwara, Anambra, Ebonyi, Ondo, Oyo, Delta and Cross River.
The INEC Chairman who was represented by the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) for Cross Riverstate, Barrister Mike Igini, charged the participants to be diligent in order to ensure that the outcome of the two exercises achieved the Commission’s long term objective of using the Permanent Voter Cards (PVC) in the 2015 General Elections.
The INEC Chairman challenged the participants who would conduct the second phase of the PVC and the CVR to surpass those in the first phase. He warned them not to allow the collection of the PVCs by proxy.
In his remarks, the Chairman of the Information and Publicity Committee, Dr. Chris O. Iyimoga, told the participants that the success of the PVC and CVR exercises would impact profoundly and positively on the 2015 General Elections.
Dr. Iyimoga who was represented by the Director, VEP, Barrister Oluwole Osaze Uzzi, said that the success of the two exercises would however depend on how the participants imbibed the lessons taught at the workshop.
He thanked the Development Partners for holding the workshop in the peaceful ambience of Calabar. He also thanked the REC, Cross River state, for hosting the participants.
In his goodwill message, the National Election Expert UNDP/DGD Project, Professor Bolade Eyinla, who represented the Director, DGD, Dr Mourtada Deme, said the credibility of voter registration which guaranteed the right to vote in elections was an important component of the democratic process in any country.
He noted that Electoral Officers were charged with the onerous responsibility of taking custody of the Voters Register for their respective states and local governments as well as ensuring the efficient and orderly distribution and competent handling of all questions concerning the distribution of the Permanent Voter Cards at the Registration Areas and Polling Units.
Prof. Eyinla argued that in handling these responsibilities, it was important that the participants got proper knowledge and understand-ding of the mechanism and modalities for distributing the PVC and for conducting the CVR in areas under their supervision.
He said that the overall goals of the workshop were to enable INEC Headquarters staff to acquaint the participants with the modalities and procedures for the purpose of the PCV distribution, formalize participants with the ICT process and procedures for the conduct of CVR and equip them with necessary skills to carry out their responsibilities in a seamless manner.
2015 ELECTIONS: INEC ASSURES POLITICAL PARTIES OF LEVEL PLAYING FIELD
Ahead of the 2015 general elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has assured all political parties of a level playing field.
The assurance was given by the Chairman of the Commission, Prof. Attahiru Jega, represented by the Acting Chairman, Dr. Ishmael Igbani, while receiving a delegation led by the Secretary General of Commonwealth, Mr. Kamalesh Sharma at the INEC headquarters last week.
Responding to a call made by the Mr. Kamalesh on the need for the Commission’s leadership to provide level playing field for all political parties in the 2015 elections,the INEC Chairman outlined steps taken by the Commission in a bid to organize the best elections the country has witnessed.
He said the current leadership of the Commission had tried to improve the electoral process more than previous administrations, by providing level playing field to all political parties.
Affirming that huge steps had been taken to ensure that INEC officials at all levels remained “non-partisan”, adding that the Commission had also instituted some innovative processes to ensure peaceful conduct of elections in a violent-free environment through partnerships with critical stakeholders and continuous engagement with political parties to ensure the electoral body and stakeholders were on the same page.
The INEC Chairman further gave assurances on INEC’s resolve to conduct its activities within the confines of the Electoral Act and ensure the political process is strengthened.
Earlier in his remarks, the Secretary General of Commonwealth, Mr. Kamalesh Sharma, who said the purpose of their visit was to “set the ball rolling in respect of the next elections”, underscored the importance of transparency and level playing field for all political parties. He said “elections should not be postponed without just and credible reasons which are transparent and it should not be postponed due to political convenience”.
The Secretary General advocated the creation of peer groups by the Commission, which he said would aid in the continual strengthening of the electoral system in the country.
He commended INEC over the last election in Ekiti State pointing out that the last election saw some positive features with regards to public participation such that “the ownership of the election was seen not just as institutional function but also a function of the people themselves,” adding that they were also interested in learning and sharing these experiences among Common wealth member states.
Mr. Kamalesh pledged the support of the Commonwealth in helping to ensure credible elections in Nigeria.
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